More UFC on FX news, Mayweather calls Pacquiao, Whitehead sentenced

- As noted earlier, all fighters except for Fabricio Camoes made weight for tomorrow’s UFC on FX show. Camoes has two hours to make 156 pounds, which shouldn’t be a problem considering that he’s at 157.5. If he can’t make weight, he’ll end up giving opponent Tommy Hayden 20% of his purse, as long as Hayden agrees to continue with the fight.

- And also as noted earlier, Houston’s own Daniel Pineda makes his UFC debut on the card tomorrow. Pineda is riding a five-fight winning streak from Houston’s Legacy Fighting Championship and last fought at Legacy 9 on Dec. 16, where he knocked out Gilbert Jimenez with a spinning backfist.

- UFC 145, which was scheduled for Montreal in March, was postponed. Here’s the deal: they simply couldn’t find a true main event to headline the show. There were talks of Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson, but Dana White didn’t want to commit to Jones’ next fight until after the Rashad Evans vs. Phil Davis fight. Many of the fights that were scheduled for Montreal will be moved to the show in Atlanta, which will now be called UFC 145 instead of UFC 146. They’re hoping to come back to Montreal in the summer. The Atlanta show is scheduled for late April, which means there will be a full six weeks between UFC 144 in Japan and UFC 145 in Atlanta. That’s the longest time between major shows that I can remember. This is also the first time since Zuffa purchased the UFC that they’ve canceled or postponed an event.

- Marcus Brimage vs. Maximo Blanco was announced for the Atlanta card. Blanco had one fight in Strikeforce as a lightweight, a loss to Pat Healy. He’s much better as a featherweight. Brimage was a contestant on TUF 14 last season.

- The Meisha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey bout will headline the March 3 Strikeforce show in Ohio. It’s the most-anticipated women’s fight in years. Tickets are now on sale for $25.

- I realize this isn’t MMA-related, but Floyd Mayweather called Manny Pacquiao last night and the two had a private conversation. Mayweather is trying to get Pacquiao to take the fight on May 5, while Pacquiao says he can’t fight until the end of May. Seriously, the only thing holding up this fight seems to be an argument over two different dates in the same month. Well, that and Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum, who might just be the worst person in all of sports.

- Chris Weidman was tapped as Michael Bisping’s replacement against Demian Maia. Weidman is undefeated and is one of the strongest prospects in the middleweight division, but this is a big step up in competition for him. Much of his time over the next week will be spent getting down to 185, since he currently weighs 210 pounds. Bisping, as noted, is facing Chael Sonnen after Mark Munoz was injured.

- “UFC Primetime: Diaz vs. Condit” premieres Friday night after the UFC on FX broadcast ends at 11 p.m. ET. Subsequent episodes air on Jan. 27 and Feb. 3 in the same time slot. If what I’m hearing about the taping of the show is any indication, this will be a must-watch for all MMA fans.

- Mike Straka and Nate Quarry will join someone named Craig Carton as the hosts of Spike’s new MMAjunkie Live TV show that debuts on February 23.

- The UFC is targeting “TUF: Australia” for later this year. The finale will be held in Brisbane. I’ve been told the show will begin taping over the summer at some point. It will likely air in the United States via tape delay on Fuel, much like the Brazilian version.

- Former UFC fighter Mike Whitehead was sentenced to one to four years in prison for attempted sexual assault. Whitehead pled guilty to charges that he attacked a woman in his home while he slept in the hopes of getting probation, but Nevada judge Douglas Hemdom said he was concerned that Whitehead never actually admitted to the crime. Whitehead must register for life as a sex offender and pay $2,400 in fines. It’s safe to say that his career as a fighter is effectively over at this point.

- Marc Ratner, the UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. will review the finish of the controversial Erick Silva vs. Carlo Prater bout from UFC 142. Silva blitzed Prater early in the first round for an apparent win, but the bout was ruled a disqualification due to shots to the back of the head by Mario Yamasaki. Replay showed that Silva only struck Prater on the back of the head one time. I expect Ratner to overturn the ruling and make it a no-contest. The UFC will treat Silva as if he won the fight, pretty much pretending the whole incident never happened.

- Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio Silva is not happening at UFC 146 as was previously rumored.

- Daniel Cormier still isn’t sure when he’ll return to face Josh Barnett in the finals of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix.

- The online alpha test for the PS3 version of UFC Undisputed 3 starts tomorrow. It’s online only. Get your code here if you want to try it out. The full demo for the game comes out on Tuesday. I’ve spent a significant amount of time with the game and can tell you that it’s a drastic improvement over the last two versions.

- Bellator 61 is official for March 9. It’s headlined by a featherweight title fight between champion Joe Warren and Pat Curran. It also features the first round of the season six featherweight tournament, including Marlon Sandro vs. Roberto Vargas and Wagnney Fabiano vs. Ronnie Mann.

- “Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine” drew 1,992 fans for a $68,805 gate. The kicker is that 1,065 of those tickets were comped, so it was a big money loser when you account for the big contracts of Rockhold, Mo Lawal and Robbie Lawler.

3 Responses

I think Mayweather will do anything he can to NOT fight Pacquiao.
Fighting Pacquiao is a guaranteed mark in the L-Colum.

If Mayweather knows Pacquiao will not be able to fight in early May, he is going to insist that they fight in early May.
Mayweather would mess his shorts and if Pacquiao relented and said he would do fight May 5th. Then something would come up where he could not fight.